Ala. Admin. Code r. 770-X-5-.21
Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 8, May 31, 2024
Section 770-X-5-.21 - Minimum Service Standards(1) Basic Utility Obligations (a) Each telephone utility shall provide telephone service to the public in its service area in accordance with rules, service standards, and tariffs on file with the Commission. Such service shall meet or exceed the standards set forth in this document.(b) Each telephone utility has the obligation of continually reviewing its operations to assure the provision of adequate service in its certificated area.(c) Where a telephone utility is operated in conjunction with any other enterprise, separate records shall be maintained so that the results of the regulated telephone operation may be determined upon reasonable notice and request by the Commission.(d) Periodic reports as required by this rule shall be submitted in a timely manner.(2) Acceptable Standards - Unless otherwise specified by the Commission, the telephone utility shall use the applicable provisions in the following publications as standards of accepted practices for the planning, engineering, construction, maintaining, and administration of the telephone plant:(a) Company written practices and guidelines, and/or other written methods proven by long term use.(b) Rural Electrification Administration (REA) practices.(c) National Electrical Safety Code, and National Electrical Code (current editions).(d) REA borrowers shall use REA practices, supplemented (but not replaced) by written company practices and other guidelines.(e) Non-REA borrowers shall use Commission approved company practices. As an alternative, they may use REA practices.(3) Adequacy of Service (a) Each telephone utility shall employ industry recognized testing and administrative procedures to determine the adequacy of service being provided to the customer in both establishing new service and maintaining existing service. Records of such testing shall be maintained.(b) Traffic and transmission studies shall be made, and records maintained, to the extent and frequency necessary to determine that sufficient plant and an adequate operating force are provided at all times, including the busy hour/busy season.(c) Each telephone utility shall provide operator assistance on a twenty-four (24) hour per day basis for both local and long distance service.(d) Each telephone utility shall employ adequate procedures for assignment of facilities. Records shall be kept up to date to determine if adjustments are necessary to maintain proper utilization of facilities.(4) Dial Service Requirements - Sufficient dial switching equipment shall be provided to meet the following minimum requirements at all times, including busy periods: (a) Dial tone within three (3) seconds on at least ninety-eight (98) percent of telephone calls.(b) Complete dialing of called numbers on at least ninety-five (95) percent of telephone calls without encountering an equipment overflow condition within the local dialing area.(5) Toll Network Trunk Requirements - Sufficient toll trunks shall be provided so that at least ninety-seven (97) percent of telephone calls offered to the customer will not encounter an equipment overflow condition.(6) Transmission Requirements Telephone utilities shall furnish and maintain properly designed plant facilities to provide satisfactory circuit transmission of communications between customers. Circuit transmission shall have adequate volume levels and be free of excessive distortion. Levels of noise and crosstalk shall be such as not to impair communications. The circuit transmission objectives set forth herein are based upon the use of standard telephone (500 type) sets connected to a 48-52 full float volt direct current supply. The minimum transmission objectives are as follows:
(a) Subscriber Loops 1,000 HZ loss: -8.5db or less.
Loop circuit: not less than 20 ma.
Circuit noise: 30db rnc or less.
CKT balance: 50db or greater.
Subscriber loops shall have a loop resistance not exceeding the supervision limit of the associated central office equipment, unless equipped with appropriate supervision extending devices to ensure that proper network control signaling and transmission is provided.
(b) Toll Trunks- -The overall transmission objective for toll network trunks must meet the following loss and circuit noise objectives: Toll | | EAS | |
1,000 HZ loss Circuit noise | -6.0db +/- 1.7db 30dbrnc or less | | -3.Odb +/- 1.7db 30dbrnc or less |
(7) Provisions for Testing - Each telephone utility shall provide test facilities which will enable it to determine the operating and transmission capabilities of circuit and dial switching equipment, either for routine maintenance or for fault location. Test numbers shall be provided for the following equipment for each central office and/or toll center:(b) A 1,000 HZ generator.(8) Selective Ringing Telephone utilities shall have as an objective the provision of full service selective ringing for all telecommunications service.
(9) Traffic Rules (see 770-X-5-.10)(10) Answering Time (a) Adequate forces shall be provided for toll, assistance calls and directory assistance to meet the service objective of an answering time of 10 seconds.(b) The service objective for calls to the business office and repair service shall be ninety (90) percent within twenty (20) seconds.(c) The service objective for operator number identification (ONI) on toll calls where automatic number identification (ANI) is not available shall be ninety (90) percent within twenty (20) seconds.(11) Maintenance of Plant and Equipment (a) Each telephone utility shall adopt and pursue a preventive maintenance program aimed at achieving efficient operation of its system so as to permit the rendering of safe, adequate service performance. Broken, damaged or deteriorated parts which are no longer serviceable shall be repaired or replaced. Adjustable apparatus and equipment shall be readjusted as necessary when found by preventative maintenance not to be in proper operating condition.(b) The telephone utility shall maintain records descriptive of its preventative maintenance program indicating work accomplished and planned, which is carried out on a routine periodic basis, for the various categories of equipment and plant.(c) Work performed in response to trouble is not considered preventive maintenance.(d) Every cable pair entering a central office shall be terminated on a main distributing frame (MDF) protector assembly or equivalent. Each cable pair shall be equipped with a protector module regardless of whether it is a working or non-working pair. Temporarily disconnected pairs shall not be left unprotected.(e) Each mainframe protector assembly shall be bonded to the adjacent protector on that vertical, and the end protector bonded to the MDF Ground Bar (MDFB) with a #6 or larger copper conductor.(f) All outside plant cables shall have their shields bonded to the cable entrance ground bar (CEGB) which is normally located close to the entrance location, or at the location of first opportunity (usually at the MDF).(g) All central office grounds measurements should comply with Commission Docket 18658 as per Commission order dated March 7, 1990.(12) Emergency Operations(a) Each telephone utility shall make reasonable provisions to meet emergencies resulting from failures of lighting or power service, sudden or prolonged increase in traffic, illness of operators, or from fire, storm, or act of God. Each telephone utility shall inform employees as to procedures to be followed in the event of emergency in order to prevent or mitigate interruption or impairment of telephone service.(b) It is essential that all central offices and toll centers have adequate provisions for emergency power. Central offices that have twenty-four (24) hour maintenance coverage or have an automatic start engine alternator shall provide a minimum of three (3) hours of battery reserve. All other central offices shall have a minimum of eight (8) hours of battery reserve. There shall be a mobile/portable emergency generator available within the company which can be delivered and connected on short notice. These central offices and generators shall be equipped with quick-connect connections.(13) Provision of Service (1) It shall be the service objective of all telephone utilities to fulfill ninety (90) percent of requests for residential service within five (5) working days of the receipt of the request unless the applicant specifically requests a later date. (b) The service objective for residential regrades shall be to fulfill ninety (90) percent of requests within five (5) days unless the applicant specifically requests a later date. The service objectives will be the same for business customers but is contingent upon availability of special equipment and special design requirements.(c) Applications for special service shall be fulfilled in as expeditious a manner as equipment and facilities will permit.(d) Any applications for service which are not completed within 30 days from due date shall be considered as a held application.(e) When, because of circumstances beyond the control of the telephone utility it is not possible to provide service within the time limits specified above, the telephone utility shall promptly notify the applicant of the reason for the delay and give an estimated service date based upon the best available information. Telephone utility personnel shall refrain from making unwarranted commitments without first having ascertained that they can reasonably be met. It shall be the service objective of all telephone utilities to meet ninety (90) percent of all commitments made, except for customer caused delays and acts of God.(f) In those instances where commitments cannot be met, the applicant shall be notified at the earliest possible time.(g) Additionally, each telephone utility shall keep a record of held orders by exchanges showing the name and address of each applicant for service, the date of application, date service is desired, the class and grade of service applied for, together with the reason for the inability to provide the new or regraded service to the applicant.(h) When, because of a shortage of facilities, a telephone utility is unable to supply telephone service on dates requested by applicant, first priority shall be given to furnishing those services which are essential to public health and safety. A monthly "Held Order" report will be furnished to the Commission listing each applicant by exchange, name, address, date of application, reason for the inability to serve, and the estimated completion date for each order, for all held orders for both new and regraded service. In cases of prolonged delays in service acquisition or other emergency, the Commission may require the company to establish a priority plan subject to Commission approval for held orders, and may request periodic reports clearing the progress being made.(14) Service Interruption(a) Each telephone utility shall make all reasonable efforts to prevent interruptions of service. Arrangements shall be made to receive customer trouble reports twenty-four (24) hours daily and to clear troubles of an emergency nature at night and weekends, as well as during regular working hours, consistent with bona fide needs of the customer and personal safety of telephone utility personnel.(b) Each telephone utility shall maintain an accurate record of trouble reports made by its customers. This record shall include appropriate identification of the customer, of service affected, the time, date and nature of the report, and action taken to clear trouble or satisfy the complaint and the date and time of trouble clearance or other disposition. This record shall be available to the Commission or its authorized representatives upon request, and shall be retained for a minimum of twelve (12) months.(c) All repair service commitments to customers shall be kept, unless customers are timely notified of unavoidable delays. If unusual repairs are required, or other factors preclude clearing of reported trouble promptly, reasonable efforts shall be made to notify affected customers.(d) The service objective shall be to clear ninety (90) percent of out-of-service (no service) troubles, not requiring unusual repair, within twenty-four (24) hours of the report received by the telephone utility, unless the customer specifically requests a later time (except Sundays and holidays).(e) It shall be the service objective to so maintain the service that the average rate of customer trouble reports in each exchange is no greater than five (5) per 100 access lines.(f) It shall be the service objective for repeated repair reports on the same access line or related equipment occurring within one (1) month of the initial report to be no greater than eight (8) percent in each exchange.(g) Each telephone utility shall maintain an accurate record of customer trouble reports and repeated repair reports for each exchange for the service objectives (N) (5) and (6). This record shall be available to the Commission, or its authorized representative, upon request, and shall be retained for a minimum of twelve (12) months.(15) Construction Work Near Utility Facilities - All contractors working in the vicinity of telephone utility lines or structures are responsible for exercising due diligence in preventing damage to telephone utility property or interruption to telephone utility service. Telephone utilities shall, when requested, furnish to contractors appropriate information concerning location of underground conduit, cable, and other equipment in order to prevent any interruption of service to telephone customers. Nothing in this rule is intended to affect the responsibility, liability or legal rights of any party under applicable laws or statutes.(16) Extensions of Service (a) The telephone utility shall extend service to applicants within each exchange of the franchised area without a construction charge unless the cost to serve the applicant is prohibitively expensive. This will be determined by the provisions in the applicable telephone utility tariff on file with the Commission.(b) Each telephone utility shall have a commercial forecast for each exchange area based upon historical as well as other pertinent data. This forecast shall include short term and long term forecasted data. The short term shall include five years of forecasted data. The long term shall be for a minimum period of 10 years. This will be filed with the Commission attached to the annual report Form CE-2. This information may be designated as "proprietary", and not available to the general public.(c) Each telephone utility shall have a facility design for its franchised area, by exchange, to serve every usable residential or commercial building. This facility design shall be available upon request and will be updated each year showing projects in progress and projects to be worked the next twelve (12) months with estimated cost of the project, or if the bid has been let, the update shall include the actual cost of the project. This facility design will be filed with the Commission attached to the annual report Form CE-2 upon request.(d) Any applicant desiring an extension to a proposed project requiring telephone service may be required to pay the entire cost (construction charge) of the extension. This will be determined by the provisions in the applicable telephone utility tariff on file with the Commission.(e) Nothing contained herein shall be construed as to prohibit a telephone utility from making at its expense greater extensions than herein prescribed should its judgment so dictate, provided like extensions are made to other customers under similar circumstances.(f) Upon complaint to, and after an investigation by the Commission, a telephone utility may be required to construct extensions greater than provided for in the applicable telephone utility's tariff upon a finding by the Commission that such extension is reasonable.(17) Safety(a) Each utility shall adopt and execute a safety program fitted to the size and type of its operations. The utility shall observe all rules of the National Electrical Safety Code.(b) Each telephone utility shall provide the following items in the telephone central office building located in the vicinity of the central office batteries and available for quick access:1. Central office battery, safety kit, to include:(18) Deviations From Rules - Upon written application showing good cause therefore, deviations from these rules may be permitted by order of the Commission.Ala. Admin. Code r. 770-X-5-.21
Effective March 1993. Filed with LRS February 5, 2013. Filed for Codification in the Alabama Administrative Code by the Alabama Public Service Commission on February 5, 2013, pursuant to the Code of Ala. 1975, § 41-22-7.Author: Alabama Public Service Commission
Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 37-1-52, 37-1-54, 37-1-57, 37-1-82, 37-2-3, 37-2-9.